KENAI
Spanish Mastiff

The breeds · working

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Guardian · FCI standard 91

Spanish Mastiff.

Flock and property guardian against wolf. FCI 91 utilization: guard and defense; closely tied to the seasonal moving of livestock, especially the Merino flocks he accompanied in the time of the Mesta (the medieval association of wandering-herd owners), defending them from wolves and other predators on the road between pastures and on the grazing grounds in all seasons; today accompanies numerous herds, sedentary and wandering, and guards farms, people and property. UKC: long used to guard Merino livestock as they are moved between pastures; in ancient times often went with the flock without a shepherd; today also a protector of farm and family; determined and sure of himself protecting flocks from dangerous predators.

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

0INHeightdogs null, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
140–200LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 140 to 200 lb; breed bitches 140 to 200 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 28 to 35 in · bitches 28 to 35 in

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 91, 2002

Low and high span FCI, UKC and the AKC page band; minimums only, center blank. The AKC band is breed-wide.

Weight

dogs 140 to 200 lb · bitches 140 to 200 lb

Breed clubAKC

Only the AKC page gives a weight; one breed-wide band counted in both rows, though females run lighter in most mastiffs and no source here splits it.

Coat

FCI 91: dense, thick, medium length, smooth, spread over the body down to the interdigital spaces; two types of coat (covering coat on the back, protecting coat on ribs and flanks); shorter on legs, longer and silky on tail. Colour indifferent; self colours (yellow, fawn, red, black, wolf, deer), brindle, parti-colour or white collar most appreciated. UKC: serious faults wavy, curly or excessively long coat

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 91, 2002

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · FCI 91: coat dense, thick, medium length, smooth, covering coat on the back and a protecting type on ribs and flanks. UKC: medium length, dense, thick, smooth

DerivedFCI Standard N° 91, 2002

Derived from the coat description in the standard (confidence derived). 3 = medium coat; neither standard says whether an undercoat is present.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

AKC breed page: energy level 3 of 5. FCI 91: rustic, kind and noble; agile in spite of size. No Royal Kennel Club page exists for the breed, so no minutes band

Breed clubAKC

exercise_need_min omitted: no RKC page.

Energy

3 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

1 of 5 · AKC breed page: coat grooming frequency 1 of 5. FCI 91: coat dense, thick, medium length, smooth; shorter on the legs, longer and silky on the tail. AKC page: shedding level 3 of 5, drooling level 5 of 5

Breed clubAKC

1 = wipe-down; AKC band 1 of 5 mapped directly. FCI and UKC both fault a wavy, curly or excessively long coat. Single source for the band.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

Flock and property guardian against wolf. FCI 91 utilization: guard and defense; closely tied to the seasonal moving of livestock, especially the Merino flocks he accompanied in the time of the Mesta (the medieval association of wandering-herd owners), defending them from wolves and other predators on the road between pastures and on the grazing grounds in all seasons; today accompanies numerous herds, sedentary and wandering, and guards farms, people and property. UKC: long used to guard Merino livestock as they are moved between pastures; in ancient times often went with the flock without a shepherd; today also a protector of farm and family; determined and sure of himself protecting flocks from dangerous predators

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 91, 2002

Wolf is named by FCI; UKC says dangerous predators. FCI classes the breed 'without working trial'.

Also used on

Guard and protection of farms, people and property in general (FCI 91); protector of farm and family (UKC)

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 91, 2002

Search pattern

Flock guardian that travels with the herd; FCI 91 gives the bark as raucous, low-pitched, deep and very sonorous, audible from a considerable distance. UKC: in ancient times often accompanied the flock on his own, without a shepherd

Breed clubFCI Standard N° 91, 2002

No source describes patrol pattern or number of dogs per flock.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 3; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 1; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 3; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 5; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 2; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 2 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Mastín Español, Mastín Español

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your spanish mastiff, on the record.

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